Surrey residents were infected with COVID-19 at more than three times the rate per capita in 2020 than those in the South Surrey and White Rock area, according to figures from the BC Centre for Disease Control.
In its latest update, Jan. 6, BCCDC reported 16,109 cases of COVID-19 in the Surrey local health area from Jan. 1, 2020 to the end of December. During that same period, there were 1,131 confirmed cases in South Surrey and White Rock.
Fraser Health’s local health area for Surrey covers most of the city, but excludes areas south of 40 Avenue. The South Surrey/White Rock local health area covers areas south of 40 Avenue, including White Rock.
According to a population estimate by the City of Surrey, there are 92,280 people who live in South Surrey and 479,330 people living in the rest of the city. In White Rock, according to a 2016 census, there are approximately 19,952 residents.
RELATED: In 2020, Surrey had at least 31% of B.C.’s total COVID-19 cases
In Surrey, approximately 33 people out of 1,000 were diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020, while in South Surrey and White Rock, approximately 10 people out of 1,000 had been diagnosed with the virus by year’s end.
In week-by-week data published by the BCCDC, the area north of 40 Avenue experienced more than 20 daily infections per 100,000 people from Dec. 27 to Jan. 2. In that same week, South Surrey and White Rock reported between 10.1 and 15 new daily cases of COVID-19.
Surrey, north of 40 Avenue, has seen the most cases in the Fraser Health region since the start of 2020, followed by Abbotsford (3,377), Burnaby (3,077), Tri-Cities (2,204), Delta (1,960), Langley (1,807), New Westminster (967), Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows (885) and Mission (512).
Vancouver recorded 8,249 cases in 2020.
According to notes from the data, cases are mapped by location of residences, while cases “with unknown residence and from out of province are not mapped.”
It adds that the number of cases in the Local Health Authority, “may not represent the location of exposure,” such as people who were infected while travelling or working elsewhere.
– with files from Lauren Collins
